Was sold on Bielema's history of developing NFL OL/Joe Thomas when he went to Arkansas, apparently, and it changed his mind.

Sad thing is... he almost didn't make that trip because of bad weather, and it was the last weekend he could take an official visit before his announcement date at the Army Game. If they decide not to chance the drive, there's a decent chance Wallace sends his letter to Mizzou today instead.

But yes, Wallace is a good example of the St. Louis recruit who seems to be looking for the first good excuse to go elsewhere.

Hopefully, with Beckner and Strong, Missouri can start to change that perception.

I really like our chances with Beckner and Strong. Given that Hentges is from Jeff, shouldn't Mizzou be in pretty good shape?

__________________
That rabbit is crazy; I'm Brian Waters!

Kotter: "You are lucky I'm truly not the vindictive or psycho type...I'd be careful from now on, and I'd just back the hell off if I were you....otherwise, the Mizzou "extension office" life might get exciting"

From what I've been told from people familiar with DarGB's athletic history, he's supposedly not put a lot of effort into his basketball game which prior to chemo had the capacity to be better than his brother's skill in hoops AND football. That's probably a product of chemo therapy beating the hell out of him and taking away a large percentage of his physical abilities but he doesn't seem to have focused on getting better fundamentally. Example: his basketball shot is a knuckleball.

Disciplinary issue comes from an employee at HHS I've talked to that said he's frequently been summoned to principal's office or someshit.

I'd tend to place benefit of the doubt in play here, since he went through so much. He's been sick since before the start of his sophomore year of high school.

I spent a brief period of time (about 2 weeks) as a 14-year old terrified that I might have a brain tumor (eye problems). Really tough to deal with, and I wouldn't be surprised if that caused him to act out and have trouble focusing.

I was lucky enough to get a reprieve after a few weeks. He spent 2 years going through chemo with his life on the line and feeling terrible.

I thought when they were recruiting DGB, we offered a scholarship to Darnell just to please DGB and family. I didn't think he was much of a prospect but it helped land DGB. Maybe I'm wrong.

Kid is an incredible athlete, if he can recover from his treatments. I know nothing of his off the field issues, though.

__________________
That rabbit is crazy; I'm Brian Waters!

Kotter: "You are lucky I'm truly not the vindictive or psycho type...I'd be careful from now on, and I'd just back the hell off if I were you....otherwise, the Mizzou "extension office" life might get exciting"

Gabe DeArmond ‏@GabeDeArmond
Pinkel references talk radio, media as challenges on the recruiting trail. "Our program was somehow doomed." Said it impacted recruiting.

__________________
That rabbit is crazy; I'm Brian Waters!

Kotter: "You are lucky I'm truly not the vindictive or psycho type...I'd be careful from now on, and I'd just back the hell off if I were you....otherwise, the Mizzou "extension office" life might get exciting"

Missouri's plant-your-flag moment in the 2014 recruiting class came over the final two months before National Signing Day.

As the Tigers' dream 2013 season approached its close -- an SEC championship berth on the table but not yet secured -- the target on Missouri's collective back followed it off the field. In the middle of an eventual 12-2 season, a handful of the staff's commitments became hot commodities.

Courtesy of Tavon Ross

Ross was one of five players to stick with Missouri despite getting late, national offers.
Quietly, Tennessee inquired about Nashville native Paul Adams, an offensive tackle and one of the most vocal parts of Missouri's 2014 class. Adams rebuffed the Volunteers on Twitter -- without naming names -- before confirming to PowerMizzou.com that it was Tennessee.

Loudly, however, other perennial blue-blood programs came after four more recruits. Florida offered quarterback Marvin Zanders after his recruiter at Duke, offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, took the same position in Gainesville. The Gators also recruited defensive end Rocel McWilliams, an offer rumored to be contingent on the decision of five-star end Lorenzo Carter.

In Georgia, an offer from the Bulldogs -- along with South Carolina -- came in late November for four-star receiver Nate Brown. Meanwhile, safety Tavon Ross saw his profile increase exponentially as the former two-star recruit picked up January offers from Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Miami.

"It's been a stressful month," safety coach Alex Grinch said. Grinch was the lead recruiter on both Brown and Ross.

"In the Big 12, that happened to us all the time," Gary Pinkel said about late interest from other schools. "Especially after we had success. You look at maybe our roster and say, 'Gosh, they're winning with players who might not have been recruited as heavily and highly as other players.' So I think that's out there a little bit.

"But I think people respect our program and they go back and evaluate and look. A bunch of people tried to get in on several different players. We're fortunate to hang onto them."

But Missouri planted its flag. Instead of a limp-to-the-finish signing day reminiscent of 2013, where the Tigers missed on a handful of late decisions, Missouri held onto all the aforementioned players. Zanders and Brown re-affirmed their decision for Missouri well before the final week of the class, but Ross and McWilliams signed with the Tigers after speculation ran into Wednesday.

"It's a huge statement," receivers coach Pat Washington said specifically of hanging onto Nate Brown. "You feel pretty comfortable in him, comfortable with him that he was gonna stay with us because like I said, he thought it out and he made the decision on what he thought academically would be the best for him, socially would be the best for him and athletically what would be the best for him.

"We fit all those things and, so, when those schools came in, I'm sure, you know, as a kid, it's gonna draw some interest. All of a sudden, in-state school or South Carolina or whatever it may be, if you're getting some attention and all of a sudden Rivals takes your name and puts a couple of more starts next to it, you know, it's really good, really important, but he stuck with his guns and he never flinched."

In Grinch's eyes, recruiting is a creature of circumstance. There's no sure-fire method of gaining commitments and signatures. So when asked if holding onto a player like Ross or a player like Brown is a turning point in these new territories, Grinch hesitates.

"I think it's hard to say," Grinch said. "Each guy you just mentioned, their situation is so different to the next guy."

He specifically mentioned Brown and the fact that Missouri's use of bigger, taller receivers this year, along with the national attention that came with it, may have allowed the four-star receiver to stick with his pledge.

"I think the big thing that you find ... is there's a lot to sell here at Missouri," Grinch said. "An established program that wins football games, produces NFL talent and also does a great job graduating athletes. Top-25 business school, top-two, probably, journalism school -- kids take notice. Combined with the fact that every game, they watch us on Saturdays and every game is on ESPN, ESPN2 and on down the line.

"Hopefully, I don't know if it's the "A-Ha" moment, but certainly, hopefully it continues down the road."

For better or worse, that road may not suddenly lead to the front door of more five-star recruits. Missouri has a process and sticks with it, Pinkel said. While fans may not be happy with the immediate results in terms of rankings, the long-term effects can't be denied. But even more so, Grinch said Pinkel's star-blind philosophy is a boon to the staff.

"When that happens, all of a sudden the pool of guys that you can look at increases," Grinch said. "Now you're got to be willing to do the leg work and be able to find those guys, but it's that retail versus wholesale type of deal. You're not spending as much time on the quote-unquote bigger stars who are getting heavily recruited, but now you can use that time to spend it in the car and drive two hours outside of Atlanta instead of hunkering down in Atlanta and kind of evaluate some of those other guys who are maybe not as heavily recruited early on.

"Again, that speaks to how we do things here from an evaluation standpoint. That's really freeing as a recruiting coach because you can do those things."

That's how Missouri landed Ross and Brown and McWilliams, along with Adams and Zanders. The Tigers found those players when they weren't in style. The head start meant that even when the in-state schools came calling, Missouri's lead was too big. The results of that finish won't be known until the 2014 season starts at the earliest. More than likely, those results will take longer to develop.

But off-the-field, especially in new territories, members of the staff believe they're ahead of schedule. Taking five players away from in-state schools, from traditional SEC rivals, is a start. A 12-2 season will do that.

Kotter: "You are lucky I'm truly not the vindictive or psycho type...I'd be careful from now on, and I'd just back the hell off if I were you....otherwise, the Mizzou "extension office" life might get exciting"